


Said I’ll Always Be Your Friend

by NUMBER1ANGIRL



Series: We Keep This Love In A Photograph [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Grover (Percy Jackson) is a Good Friend, I tried for angst, Other, Ten years after PJO, set during HOO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28752882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NUMBER1ANGIRL/pseuds/NUMBER1ANGIRL
Summary: In which, before leaving for the quest, Annabeth has one more final mission.Or, Grover is a good bro, Annabeth is sad, and Percy is still missing.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood
Series: We Keep This Love In A Photograph [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107947
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71





	Said I’ll Always Be Your Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this one in drafts for a while now. I hope you enjoy!

Tacked on a wall in the Poseidon cabin was a photo that rested right beside the infamous Minotaur horn. 

In the photo, were three familiar faces. 

Annabeth lay in a hospital bed, her eyes closed. Blonde hair stuck to her face, and she looked absolutely exhausted. But, still. There was a small smile on her face. 

Percy stood next to her. He held one of her hands, his thumb caressing the wedding ring on her finger. 

Grover was in the picture. He was cradling a small bundle wrapped in blankets. There was a smile on his face, as he looked down at the baby. The first person, besides her parents, to hold her. 

3/4s of the inhabitants of that photo were in the Poseidon cabin. One was sleeping. The other two were watching her tiny chest rise and fall. 

Annabeth felt her neck start to tense up. It was starting to ache from looking downwards for so long. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to miss a single moment.

“Annabeth?” Grover asks gently, his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

They were sitting together on a bunk in Cabin 3. It was the quietest, most private place to keep Zoe in. No randomly loud noises or rogue campers to wake the tiny girl up. 

It didn’t hurt that the scent in the air, saltwater and seaweed, reminded Annabeth of her husband. Her husband that she hasn’t seen in months. The husband that she would hopefully be able to see tomorrow.

If she could let go, that is.

She looks up, and meets Grover’s eyes. He looked just as tired as she did. They’d both been working tirelessly, looking for Percy. And now, Annabeth would be gone for who knows how long. There was some stuff that she needed to settle before she went with the others.

Annabeth set her gaze back to the crib, and it’s occupant. Zoe Jackson, eighteen months old and thriving. Her eyes were closed, and she gripped the quilt that Sally had knitted her for her first birthday. 

Annabeth blinks back tears, looking down at her daughter. She had her father’s black hair. Wild, and messy, and so long for such a young girl. But the irises that were covered by her eyelids were most definitely Annabeth’s. Big, grey, and full of so much curiosity for such a young girl.

Annabeth shakes her head. “I can’t let her go.” Grover gives her a sympathetic look. “I know I have to. I can’t take her on a dangerous quest. But I don’t want to lose her.”

Grover gulps. He squeezes the shoulder that his hand is resting on. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. They can always bring someone else.”

Annabeth bit her lip. That was true. They didn’t  _ technically  _ need her. 

She could just stay here. Raise her daughter. Ignore the quest her mother sent her on, and stay on the sidelines. 

There’s always a first time for everything.

But, deep down, Annabeth knew she couldn’t just wait. It just wasn’t in her nature. She couldn’t stay at camp while her husband was missing, at some enemy camp, and on his way to probably certain doom.

Not to mention, she didn’t trust anyone else to do the jobs that she had been given.

She couldn’t stay on the sidelines. But, that knowledge didn’t stop her heart from hurting either way.

She sadly shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I  _ have  _ to go. I need to help them. I need to help  _ him _ .”

Grover nods. “I get it. If I had the chance to get him back, I’d take it. But still… if I had to leave Willow or Jonah…”

“It’s not easy.” Annabeth finishes the thought, looking down at Zoe. Her chest was moving up and down, her breathing deep and even.

“She’s so peaceful.” Grover remarks. 

Annabeth nods, swallowing hard. “She deserves it.”

In her waking hours, the recent pains were not lost on her. She missed her father. He was the one that stayed home with her each day. She asked where he was. As best as she could at least. Zoe had only recently started making sounds that resembled English

But Annabeth didn’t know how to respond. How to explain to her toddler that her father had been kidnapped and stripped of his memories by a vindictive, feathered goddess.

Not even Annabeth could truly wrap her brain around it at times. What hope did Zoe have?

“Grover? I need to ask you something.”

He looked up, his eyes bright. “What’s up?”

Annabeth settles deeper into the bed she was set up on, bringing her knees to her chest. 

“Can you look after Zoe while we’re gone?”

Grover’s eyes widened comically. “Wha- really? Me?” His voice came out like a squeak. 

“Well, Juniper too.” Annabeth murmurs, the corners of her mouth quirking upwards. 

“Well.. yeah! But… really?” He starts stroking his goatee. 

Annabeth rolls her eyes. “No. We chose you as her godfather because of the goat legs.”

Grover was blinking a few times. “What about Sally?”

“Her, Paul, and Estelle are still in California. It would just be easier to bring her with us to Camp Jupiter than send her with Sally.”

The Blofis family moved to Hollywood because Sally had gotten a deal to make one of her books into a movie. It had been an opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up. 

Grover blinks a few times. “You really want me to watch your baby for you.”

“Of course.” She says as loudly as she can while whispering. “You’re one of my best friends. I trust you so much. Plus she gets along with Willow and Jonah. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t mean it, Grover.”

He blinks a few times, and swallows. It takes Annabeth a few seconds to realize that he’s trying not to cry. 

Before she realizes what’s happening, Grover launches himself at her in a hug. “Yes! I will! I promise I won’t let her out of my sight for a second.”

“Shouldn’t you talk to Juniper first?” Annabeth asks, though she’s laughing at his reaction. 

He waves her off. “She adores Zoe. And it’s not like she’s a handful or anything. I just… still can’t process that you trust me this much.”

“You watched her those weekends I went searching for Percy.” Annabeth reminds him. “And you’d trust me to watch Jonah and Willow.”

“Well, yeah!” Grover brushes her off, as if the prospect of not trusting her was foreign to him. “But… this is the big leagues. And you want me to do it!”

Annabeth puts her hands on his shoulders, and looks him straight in the eye. “Grover Underwood. I have known you since I was seven years old. You’re one of my best friends. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am without you. Never doubt that.”

Grover let’s out a soft bleat. “You sure know how to make an old goat feel significant.”

“You literally look five years younger than me,” Annabeth mutters, rolling her eyes. 

Grover just shakes his head, wrapping his arms around Annabeth in a tight hug. 

“You can trust me.” He whispers into her neck. 

“I know.” Annabeth murmurs. 

And even as she finds it impossible to say her goodbyes to her baby girl the next day. Even as she watches Grover and Juniper pack up her things while their kids run around the cabin, giving “Aunti Annabeth” big hugs. Even as she boards the ship the next day, brushing off Piper when the young girl asks her what’s wrong. 

She never loses her faith in Grover Underwood. 


End file.
